Magic Johnson has concerns about the Miami Heat's leadership structure

Those were some very interesting comments by Magic Johnson about the Miami Heat during Sunday’s ABC telecast.

During a studio roundtable, the Hall of Famer had mostly good things to say about the Heat and LeBron James, with whom he worked during the summer. Magic predicted a championship for the Heat and an MVP award for LeBron.

However, the former Lakers great also expressed concern about the team’s lack of a defined leadership pecking order and cautioned that if the Heat fall short again they would have to break up the team by trading either LeBron or Dwyane Wade.

A sampling:

On LeBron’s summer work: “I gotta give the guy credit. Lebron reached out to me right after the season. He wanted to work out with me and talk to me about just his basketball game. Then he worked out with Hakeem Olajuwon, the Hall of Famer, on his post game. I think he’s going to have a monster season. I think he’s going to win MVP and I think they’re going to win the championship.”

On what happens if the Heat fall short: “I think this year if LeBron James does not win it and the Miami Heat does not win it all, they’re going to break up that team. They have to. They’re going to have to trade one of those guys, Dwyane Wade or LeBron James.”

On the Heat’s fourth-quarter problems in the Finals: “I think the key for the Miami Heat is to understand who is the leader of this team. If Dwyane Wade is the leader, define that. Tell everybody that and go out there and play like that. Because right now, in the fourth quarter, to me they don’t know who they go to. It seems like, ‘OK, I’m going to defer to you this time, Lebron.’ ‘No,’ Dwyane says, ‘it’s my turn this time.’ No. You’ve got to have a definite, ‘I’m the guy who we’re going to look to to score.’ [With the Lakers] I was the leader and I had the ball in my hands.”

On wanting Wade to do more leading: “What I get disappointed at is when it’s not going well, will Dwyane Wade get on the guys? Will he get on Chris Bosh? Is he too friendly with Lebron James? See, somebody, sometimes you’ve got to get on guys. I got on Kareem. I got on James Worthy, and then they got on me too. Somebody has to be the leader. If they’re going to win the championship, somebody has to step into that role.”

What are your thoughts on Magic’s critique of the Heat?

Considering the man’s place in basketball history — as well as his close relationship with Heat President Pat Riley — I believe it would be a mistake to dismiss any of the above comments. Right up to and including the part about possibly trading Wade or LeBron should this team fall short (although I have a hard time imagining that scenario playing out).

Comments (2 Comments)

Who was the leader during Shaq and Kobe in 4th ‘hack a shaq’ quarter?? Or the Spurs?? I dont agree with him at all!. Hes just reaching back to last year as if a leader down the stretch would have helped Lebron put the ball in the basket!! You can have two guys that respect each other and figure things out from the difficult times they had. BTW, I guess it would only apply to the Finals, cause they did fine getting through the rest of the playoffs…

Anyone see the new Miami Dolphin head coach @ Joes’ Stone Crab restaurant?

Advertisement

About the author

MIKE BERARDINO is still living the dream he first hatched as a young boy growing up in South Florida in the ‘70s and ‘80s. He’s writing about sports for a living. Best of all, he’s doing it in a now-crowded South Florida sports landscape teeming with talent, passion and, yes, sometimes even controversy. As the newest sports columnist at the Sun Sentinel, where he’s worked since February 1998, most recently as a Dolphins beat writer, Mike will draw on his many experiences over the years covering virtually every major sport and event. You name it, he’s been on the scene: World Series, Summer and Winter Olympics, Super Bowls, NBA Finals, NCAA Final Fours, BCS Championships, Wimbledon, the Masters, NASCAR Sprint Cup and on and on. Talk about living the dream. And now, with this new role and a daily blog forum for his many ideas and opinions, it just keeps getting better.